Shooting apparatus and method for controlling shooting apparatus

ABSTRACT

A camera includes: a shooting section that outputs images of an object; a moving image shooting control section that controls the shooting section to repeat shooting under predetermined shooting conditions at a predetermined frame rate; a moving image generation section that generates moving images based on images shot under the predetermined shooting conditions, respectively; an image extraction section that extracts a first image and a second image based on a predetermined condition from each of the moving images; a display section; and a display control section that performs control to simultaneously multi-display the first image and the second image of each moving image on the display section.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/102,878 (referred to as “the '878 application and incorporated hereinby reference), filed on May 6, 2011, titled “SHOOTING APPARATUS ANDMETHOD FOR CONTROLLING SHOOTING APPARATUS, and listing Osamu NONAKA andMasaomi TOMIZAWA as inventors, the '878 application claiming benefit ofJapanese Applications No. 2010-109597 filed in Japan on May 11, 2010,and No. 2010-117638 filed in Japan on May 21, 2010, the contents ofwhich are incorporated by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a shooting apparatus capable ofshooting moving images, and a method for controlling the shootingapparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

A digital camera is provided with a function of automaticallycontrolling various shooting conditions. Unfortunately, an image shotunder automatic control may not necessarily be an image as intended bythe shooting person. For example, an image shot at an automatically setamount of exposure may be brighter or darker than intended by theshooting person. As such, Japanese Patent Application Laid-OpenPublication No. 2009-111635 discloses a camera with bracket shootingmode, in which still images are successively shot while a shootingcondition such as an amount of exposure is varied stepwise.

In bracket shooting mode, for example, a first image is shot with anoptimum control value determined under automatic control, and two imagesare further shot under conditions with control values shifted positivelyand negatively from the optimum control value, respectively. Through thebracket shooting, the shooting person can obtain an image that matchesthe person's intension best among the three images.

Due to digitization of shooting technologies, cameras capable ofshooting moving images as well as still images are available. In stillimage shooting, states of an object, such as the luminosity and colortone, can be checked before the shooting. In moving image shooting,however, various changes may occur in an object during the shooting.

With a recent increase in the number of female camera users, movingimages of daily experiences, for example a cooking process, areincreasingly shot. For example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a movingimage of grilling meat may be shot. Unfortunately, it is not easy to setshooting conditions (such as an aperture and an exposure time) at thestart of the shooting by predicting an image 28A2 in which the grillingis finished as shown in FIG. 1B from an image 28A1 in which the grillingis started as shown in FIG. 1A. In addition, the meat 91 undergoeschanges in color etc. with changes in its doneness, and the changingpart (the meat 91) is an unspecified, small part in the screen. Ifautomatic control is performed to set optimum shooting conditions forthe part of the meat 91, the luminosity and color tone of objects otherthan the meat 91, for example a person 92 and a background 93, arechanged with the changes of the shooting conditions.

That is, when an object becomes brighter or darker during moving imageshooting, automatic control is performed so that a moving image withconstant luminosity is obtained regardless of the changes in luminosity.

Japanese Patent No. 2765642 discloses an exposure control device for avideo camera, with which a bright object is shot relatively brighter anda dark object is shot relatively darker by correcting an automaticcontrol condition by an amount of correction smaller than an optimumamount of correction for luminosity changes of the object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A shooting apparatus in an embodiment includes: a shooting section thatoutputs images of an object; a moving image shooting control sectionthat controls the shooting section to repeat shooting under a pluralityof predetermined shooting conditions at a predetermined frame rate; amoving image generation section that generates a plurality of movingimages based on a plurality of images shot under the predeterminedshooting conditions, respectively; an image extraction section thatextracts a first image and a second image based on a predeterminedcondition from each of the plurality of moving images; a displaysection; and a display control section that performs control tosimultaneously multi-display the first image and the second image ofeach moving image on the display section.

A shooting apparatus in another embodiment includes: a detection sectionthat detects luminosity of an object; a shooting section that shoots theobject at a predetermined frame rate and outputs a moving image formedof a plurality of images; a condition control section that controls avalue of an exposure condition to fall within a dynamic range of theshooting section depending on the luminosity of the object detected bythe detection section; a condition storage section that stores the valueof the exposure condition for each of the images under control of thecondition control section; and a correction section that performsluminosity correction processing based on the value of the exposurecondition for each of the images stored in the condition storagesection, wherein a bright image of the object is made brighter and adark image of the object is made darker in the luminosity correctionprocessing.

A shooting apparatus in still another embodiment includes: a detectionsection that detects luminosity of an object; a condition controlsection that controls an exposure condition depending on the luminosityof the object detected by the detection section; a shooting section thatshoots the object at a predetermined frame rate under control of thecondition control section and outputs a moving image formed of aplurality of images; a condition storage section that stores theexposure condition for each of the images; a correction section thatperforms luminosity correction processing based on the exposurecondition for each of the images stored in the condition storagesection, wherein a bright image of the object is made brighter and adark image of the object is made darker in the luminosity correctionprocessing; a moving image shooting control section that controls theshooting section to repeat shooting under predetermined shootingconditions at a predetermined frame rate; and a storage section thatstores a moving image generated by a moving image generation sectionbased on images shot under any one of the predetermined shootingconditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustrative diagram for describing an image at the startof shooting a moving image;

FIG. 1B is an illustrative diagram for describing an image at the end ofshooting the moving image;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a camera in a first embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for describing a flow of operation of the camerain the first embodiment;

FIGS. 4A-4C are illustrative diagrams for describing images that formmoving images shot by the camera in the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative diagram for describing the way the camera isused in the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative diagram for describing a display surface of adisplay section of the camera in the first embodiment;

FIGS. 7A-7F are illustrative diagrams for describing operation of abrightness analysis section of the camera in the first embodiment;

FIG. 8 is an illustrative diagram for describing the display surface ofthe display section of the camera in the first embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a camera in a second embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative diagram for describing the way the camera isused in the second embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a camera in a third embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for describing a flow of operation of the camerain the third embodiment;

FIGS. 13A to 13C are illustrative diagrams showing display screens fordescribing operation of a condition control section of the camera in thethird embodiment;

FIG. 13D is an illustrative diagram showing an object luminositydistribution for describing operation of the condition control sectionof the camera in the third embodiment;

FIG. 13E is an illustrative diagram showing an image signal intensitydistribution for describing operation of the condition control sectionof the camera in the third embodiment;

FIG. 14A is an illustrative diagram showing an image signal intensitydistribution for describing operation of a correction section of thecamera in the third embodiment;

FIG. 14B is an illustrative diagram showing a corrected image signalintensity distribution for describing operation of the correctionsection of the camera in the third embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram for describing changes in luminosity of an objectduring shooting of a moving image;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a camera in a fourth embodiment;

FIG. 17 is an illustrative diagram for describing designating a specificobject in the camera in the fourth embodiment;

FIGS. 18A-18E are illustrative diagrams for describing shooting a movingimage in the camera in the fourth embodiment; and

FIG. 19 is an illustrative diagram for describing luminosity correctionprocessing in the camera in the fourth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

First Embodiment

A camera 1 capable of shooting moving images, which is a shootingapparatus in a first embodiment, will be described below. As shown inFIG. 2, the camera 1 has an interchangeable lens 10 and a body 20.Although the camera 1 is not limited to a camera with an interchangeablelens, the following description takes the camera 1 with theinterchangeable lens as an example. The interchangeable lens 10 of thecamera 1 is a general-purpose product and therefore will be brieflydescribed.

The interchangeable lens 10 includes a lens 11, an operation section 12,a driving section 13, a position detection section 14, a control section15, and a communication section 16. The lens 11 is a zoom lens forexample, which includes optical members and a diaphragm. A user'soperation is conveyed to the control section 15 through the operationsection 12, and the driving section 13 drives the lens 11 to adjust anaperture value (an F value), a focus, an angle of view (a zoom state),etc., of the lens 11. The zoom state, the focusing state, and theaperture of the lens 11 are detected by the position detection section14. The states of the lens 11 are sent to the body 20 through thecommunication section 16. Interchangeable lenses other than the lens 10shown can also be attached to the camera 1. When a lens that is not azoom lens is attached to the camera 1, a component such as a focusingring (not shown) corresponds to the operation section 12.

The body 20 includes an image pickup section 21 that is shooting means,a moving image shooting control section 31 that is moving image shootingcontrol means, a moving image generation section 32 that is moving imagegeneration means, a display control section 33 that is display controlmeans, a temporary storage section 22 that is temporary storage means,an image analysis section 34 that is image analysis means, an imageextraction section 35 that is image extraction means, a manual selectionsection 36 that is manual selection means, an automatic selectionsection 37 that is automatic selection means, a storage section 23 thatis storage means, a display section 28 that is display means with atouch panel 29, the touch panel 29 and an operation section 26 that areinput means, a clock 25, and a communication section 24. Each componentof the body 20 may not be independent hardware. For example, componentssuch as the moving image shooting control section 31 may be implementedin such a manner that a program stored in a storage section such as ROMor in a storage medium (not shown) is read by a CPU to perform functionsof the respective components. That is, the CPU may implement a controlsection 30, which may have the functions of the respective components asfunctions of the control section 30.

The image pickup section 21 shoots an image of an object through thelens 11 and outputs the shot image. The moving image shooting controlsection 31 controls the image pickup section 21 to repeat shooting underseveral predetermined shooting conditions at a predetermined frame rate.The moving image generation section 32 generates a moving image fromimages shot under the predetermined shooting conditions. The displaycontrol section 33 performs control to simultaneously multi-display liveview images under the different shooting conditions on the displaysection 28 during the shooting. The image analysis section 34 analyzesbrightness values of the images that form the moving images. The imageextraction section 35 extracts a first image with the highest maximumbrightness value and a second image with the lowest minimum brightnessvalue from the moving images based on the result of the image analysissection 34.

The display control section 33 performs control to simultaneouslymulti-display the first image and the second image under each differentshooting condition on the display section 28 after the shooting. Themanual selection section 36 selects any one of the moving images basedon the first image and the second image displayed on the display section28 according to the user's instruction provided through means such asthe touch panel 29. In contrast, the automatic selection section 37automatically selects a moving image from the shot moving images such aswhen the manual selection section 36 does not receive an instructionfrom the user for a predetermined period. The automatically selectedmoving image is such that the brightness values of the first image arebelow a saturated brightness value, and the difference in the brightnessvalues between the first image and the second image is the largest. Thestorage section 23 stores the moving image selected by the manualselection section 36 or the automatic selection section 37. The camera 1can be connected to other external devices through a communicationsection 27, so that images can be displayed on a television, forexample.

Now, a process flow in the camera 1 will be described with reference toa flowchart in FIG. 3.

<Step S10> Power On

The operation starts if the camera 1 is powered on (Yes) and ends if thecamera 1 is powered off (No).

<Step S11> Initial System Setting

If shooting operation mode is multi movie mode, i.e., bracket movieshooting mode (Yes), a process from S13 is performed. Otherwise (No), anormal shooting process from S12 is performed.

<Steps S13 to S15> Shooting under Conditions 1 to 3

By way of example, the moving image shooting control section 31 controlsthe image pickup section 21 to repeat shooting under three shootingconditions A, B, and C at a predetermined frame rate. The shootingconditions A, B, and C here illustratively include the condition B at astandard exposure, the condition A at a positively shifted exposure(e.g., twice the amount of exposure), and the condition C at anegatively shifted exposure (e.g., a quarter of the amount of exposure).

The exposure conditions are determined using a known photometric scheme(evaluative metering, center-weighted averaging metering, or spotmetering). For shooting of a person, a correct exposure condition may beset for a face part detected with a face detection system. Further, theuser may touch the touch panel displaying a live view image with afinger to cause light in a certain area in the screen to be measured.

For example, when a moving image of grilling meat as shown in FIG. 1 isto be shot, the user may sequentially touch the part of the meat 91 andthe part of the person 92 in a live view image, so that a correctexposure condition may be set for the designated two areas, i.e., themeat 91 and the person 92.

The camera 1 then sequentially repeats shooting under the shootingconditions A, B, and C at the predetermined frame rate to obtain movingimages. For example, for shooting under the three shooting conditions A,B, and C at a frame rate of 60 frames/sec per moving image, the imagepickup section 21 performs shooting at a frame rate of 180 frames/sec.

The number of shooting conditions and the frame rate may be variableaccording to the user's setting. That is, in a case where the user putsimportance on the exposure time, the shooting may be performed at areduced frame rate if the total exposure time under the three shootingconditions is not less than 1/60 of a second. The user may also reducethe frame rate for saving the storage capacity. The moving images may beshot under four or more shooting conditions.

FIGS. 4A-4C are diagrams for describing shot images under the shootingconditions A, B, and C. FIG. 4A shows images FA at twice the amount ofexposure, FIG. 4B shows images FB at the standard amount of exposure,and FIG. 4C shows images FC at a quarter of the amount of exposure.These figures conceptually show that the images are obtainedchronologically toward the right.

<Step S16> Multi-Display Images

The display control section 33 performs control to simultaneouslymulti-display three live view images (through-the-lens images) beingshot under the three shooting conditions A, B, and C on the displaysection 28. For example, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a display screen 28Aof the display section 28, in which the images FB at the standard amountexposure are displayed in a display area 28A1, the images FA at twicethe amount of exposure are displayed in a display area 28A2, and theimages FC at a quarter of the amount of exposure are displayed in adisplay area 28A3.

Since the user can check the live view images during the shooting, theuser can stop the shooting if none of the shooting conditions areappropriate. The live view images here are images being shot, which areeach stored in the temporary storage section 22.

In multi movie mode, even before the start of shooting, the displaycontrol section 33 may perform control so that live view images underthe three shooting conditions A, B, and C not stored in the temporarystorage section 22 are simultaneously multi-displayed on the displaysection 28.

<Step S17> Is Shooting Finished?

The process from the step S13 is repeated until the user instructs thefinish of the shooting (Yes).

<Step S18> Generate Moving Images

Based on the images stored in the temporary storage section 22, themoving image generation section 32 generates moving images AFA, AFB, andAFC under the three predetermined shooting conditions, respectively. Themoving image generation section 32 may generate a moving image from onlyselected images to be stored in the storage section 23, after aselection process to be described later. That is, after the shooting isfinished or before images are stored in the storage section 23, themoving image generation section 32 generates the moving image(s) fromthe images shot under the predetermined condition(s).

<Step S19> Analyze Images

The image analysis section 34 analyzes brightness values of the imagesFA1 to FA9, FB1 to FB9, and FC1 to FC9 that form the moving images AFA,AFB, and AFC. FIGS. 7A to F show the brightness at the center of theimages, where FIG. 7A represents the image FA1, FIG. 7B represents theimage FB1, FIG. 7C represents the image FC1, FIG. 7D represents theimage FA9, FIG. 7E represents the image FB9, and FIG. 7F represents theimage FC9.

The luminosity (brightness) of an object M takes optimum values in theimage FB1 among the images FA1, FB1, and FC1 at the beginning of theshooting. The luminosity (brightness) then takes optimum values in theimage FB9 among the images FA9, FB9, and FC9 with respect to the entirescreen. However, at the end of the shooting, the images FA9 and FB9 areoverexposed. That is, these images exhibit incorrect brightness andcolors due to the brightness values exceeding a saturated brightnessvalue BU of pixels of the image pickup section 21.

The brightness values here are either white brightness values, or red,green, and blue brightness values. If a single type of brightness valuesis to be selected, white brightness values are preferable. If importanceis put on the color, in other words, in “color change mode,” red, green,and blue brightness values are preferable to be selected as types ofbrightness values. In the latter case, the image analysis section 34analyzes red, green, and blue brightness values of each image. In thismanner, the camera 1 can detect changes in a specific color regardedimportant by the user and prevent saturation and blackout of thatspecific color, so that a moving image rendered according to the user'spreference can be generated.

Besides analyzing pixels of the images in the entire screen, the imageanalysis section 34 may analyze only the center of the screen or only anarea designated by the user, as in the above-described exposurecondition determination. The user preferably designates the area bytouching the screen of the display section 28 displaying the images witha finger through the touch panel 29.

The image analysis section 34 may analyze only a part on which the userfocuses attention. For example, under an exposure condition that allowsreproducing the color of a bird perching on a branch of a tree, a brightsky in the background may be overexposed. The above approach enablesshooting with importance put on the color of the bird.

The image analysis may be performed for, e.g., every nine pixels ratherthan for all pixels in the area, thereby enabling fast processing.

Further, from the result of the analysis, the user can readily determinewhich images in which of the shot moving images are overexposed.

<Step S20> Extract Images

Based on the result of the analysis by the image analysis section 34,the image extraction section 35 extracts a first image with the highestmaximum brightness value Bmax and a second image with the lowest minimumbrightness value Bmin from each of the moving images AFA, AFB, and AFC.Conventionally, the user has to replay moving images if the user wantsto check changes in luminosity of the shot images immediately aftershooting. Extracting the two images (the first image and the secondimage) with the largest amount of change allows the user to make animmediate determination.

In the example shown in FIGS. 4A-4C and 7A-7F, for example, the imageFA9 is extracted as the first image and the image FA1 is extracted asthe second image from the moving image AFA. Thus, for prioritizing aselection according to the user's determination, the image extractionsection 35 extracts the image FA9 even though the image is overexposed.

The user can preferably select to cause the image extraction section 35to extract, as the first image, an image with the highest brightnessamong images except overexposed images.

In the case where the image analysis section 34 has analyzed the red,green, and blue brightness values of each image, the image extractionsection 35 may use the average of the three brightness values or may usethe maximum or minimum of the three brightness values.

Although the initial image is the second image and the last image is thefirst image in the above example, it is to be understood that images inthe middle of the shooting may often be the first image and the secondimage.

Only the maximum brightness Bmax may be used for the extraction of thefirst image and the second image, so that the first image with thehighest Bmax and the second image with the lowest Bmax may be extracted.The extraction may be based on the brightness in a certain area in thescreen. Further, the extraction may utilize a brightness change rate, ora brightness change above a predetermined amount. The certain area inthe screen is the center or a marginal area, or a designated area in thescreen. The extraction may be based on a brightness change in adesignated object, as will be described later.

<Step S21> Multi-Display Still Images

The display control section 33 performs control to simultaneouslymulti-display the first images and the second images under the threedifferent shooting conditions A, B and C on the display section 28. Asshown in FIG. 8, the six images under the shooting conditions A, B, andC are multi-displayed in the display screen 28A.

Information such as the number of images containing overexposed areasand the positions in each moving image (frame numbers) of the imagescontaining the overexposed areas may also be displayed in the displayscreen 28A.

<Step S22> Is Moving Image Selected?

In response to the user designating one of the three moving imagesdisplayed on the display section 28 through, e.g., the touch panel 29(Yes), the manual selection section 36 selects the moving image. Inother words, the user selects a moving image that matches the user'sintention.

<Step S23> Automatic Selection

If, for example, the manual selection is not performed within apredetermined period or automatic selection is instructed by the user(S22: No), the automatic selection section 37 automatically selects oneof the moving images. At this point, the automatic selection section 37selects a moving image such that the brightness values of the firstimage are below the saturated brightness value, and the difference inthe brightness values between the first image and the second image isthe largest. That is, the automatic selection section 37 selects amoving image with the largest amount of change.

In the case where the image analysis section 34 has analyzed the red,green, and blue brightness values of each image, the image extractionsection 35 selects a moving image such that the first image has all thebrightness values of the three colors below saturated brightness valuesand the difference in the brightness values between the first image andthe second image is the largest.

As an example, an image that maximally renders changes in color etc. atsunset is selected. As another example, an image is selected thatmaximally renders changes in color tone such as when the user wants toshoot how the color of a bird flitting from branch to branch of abacklit tree changes in the shade of leaves and in the sunlight.

Rather than a moving image with the largest difference in the brightnessvalues between the first image and the second image, a moving image withthe most frequent luminosity changes between the first image and thesecond image may be selected. In this manner, a moving image is selectedwith importance put on color transitions of the object.

Information such as the number of images containing overexposed areasand the positions in each moving image (frame numbers) of the imagescontaining the overexposed areas may also be used by the automaticselection section 37 in the selection process.

<Step S24> Store Moving Image

The moving image selected by the manual selection section 36 or theautomatic selection section 37, i.e., the moving image under a shootingcondition that matches the user's intention, is stored in the storagesection 23. At this point, the moving image to be stored may becompressed by a moving image compression section (not shown) beforebeing stored.

In the above description, the image extraction section 35 extracts thefirst image and the second image based on the result of the analysis bythe image analysis section 34. Alternatively, the image extractionsection 35 may extract the first image and the second image from each ofthe predetermined shooting conditions A, B, and C based on apredetermined condition. For example, the image extraction section 35may extract the initial image as the first image, and the last image asthe second image. Images, for example overexposed images, selected basedon the result of the brightness analysis may also be displayed.

The image extraction section 35 may extract the first image and thesecond image of each moving image with the largest amount of change, inother words, with a sharp change. Alternatively, the image extractionsection 35 may extract the first image and the second image of eachmoving image with a large amount of change relative to time, in otherwords, with a large differential value of the amount of change. Theshooting condition is not limited to the exposure time but may be acondition such as an aperture state.

As described above, the camera 1 in the present embodiment shoots andstores a moving image under a shooting condition that matches the user'sintention.

Thus, a method for controlling a shooting apparatus in the presentembodiment includes: a shooting step by a shooting section of repeating,at a predetermined frame rate, a first shooting substep of outputtingimages of an object under a first shooting condition, a second shootingsubstep of outputting images of the object under a second shootingcondition, and a third shooting substep of outputting images of theobject under a third shooting condition; a moving image generation stepof generating a first moving image based on the images shot in the firstshooting substep, generating a second moving image based on the imagesshot in the second shooting substep, and generating a third moving imagebased on the images shot in the third shooting sub step; an imageextraction step of extracting a first image and a second image from eachof the moving images based on a predetermined condition; and a displaycontrol step of simultaneously multi-displaying the first image and thesecond image of each moving image on a display section.

During the shooting, the image multi display for simultaneouslymulti-displaying the live view images may not be performed, but only anyone of the live view images may be displayed.

The luminosity of the object to be shot may be initially identified, andin the following shooting, the exposure may be controlled under shootingconditions based on the initially identified luminosity. This allowsobtaining moving images with more emphasis on changes in luminosity ofthe object.

Although the three moving images shot under the three shootingconditions have been taken as an example in the above description, thenumber of shooting conditions may be two, or more than three.

Second Embodiment

Now, a camera 1A in a second embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. Since the camera 1A is similar to the camera 1, likecomponents will be given like symbols and will not be described.

As shown in FIG. 9, the camera 1A includes an object designation section38 in a control section 30A in a body 20A. The object designationsection 38 is object designation means through which a user designates aspecific object in a live view image displayed on a display section 28before shooting. An image analysis section 34A analyzes an image areathat includes the specific object designated through the objectdesignation section 38 in each picked up image.

Specifically, as in a case where a moving image of the sun setting overthe horizon is shot, an object of shooting may move in the screen overtime. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 10, the user designates the sunas the specific object in a live view image on the camera 1A by touchinga touch panel 29 with a finger before starting the shooting. Then themoving image shooting is started so that an optimum exposure stateappropriate for rendering the setting sun is set. The image analysissection 34A detects the part of the sun in each shot image and analyzesbrightness values in the area.

For example, the object designation section 38 identifies the shape,color, or brightness specific to the object image in the area designatedby the user through the touch panel 29, and detects how the position ofsimilar patterns in the sequentially obtained images moves. The resultof the detection is stored in a temporary storage section 22 along withthe images.

Once the image analysis section 34A analyzes the image in the area ofthe shot sun in each image, the user or an automatic selection section37 can select a moving image that includes images with the largestamount of change in the color of the sun. The user may designate two ormore areas.

When the specific object designated by the object designation section 38disappears from the screen during the shooting, for example when the sunsets below the horizon, the camera 1A informs the user and asks the userfor determination whether to continue or stop the shooting.

As described above, in addition to the advantages of the camera 1, thecamera 1A in the present embodiment provides an advantage of the abilityto shoot a moving image that matches the user's intention with attentionfocused on an object image in a small part of the screen.

Third Embodiment

Now, a camera 1B capable of shooting moving images, which is a shootingapparatus in a third embodiment, will be described below. Since thecamera 1B is similar to the camera 1, like components will be given likesymbols and will not be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the camera 1Bhas an interchangeable lens 10 and a body 20B.

The body 20B includes an image pickup section 21 that is shooting means,a detection section 22B that is detection means, a condition controlsection 31B that is condition control means, a temporary storage section22A that temporarily stores shot images, a condition storage section 32Bthat is condition storage means, a correction section 33B that iscorrection means, a recognition section 34B that is recognition means,an AGC (Auto Gain Control) control section 35B, a storage section 23that is storage means, a display section 28 that is display means, atouch panel 29 and an operation section 26 that are input means, a clock25, and a communication section 24.

Each component of the body 20B may not be independent hardware. Forexample, components such as the condition control section 31B may beimplemented in such a manner that a program stored in a storage sectionsuch as ROM or in a storage medium (not shown) is read by a CPU toperform functions of the respective components. That is, the CPU mayimplement a control section 30B, which may have the functions of therespective components as functions of the control section 30B.

The image pickup section 21 includes a CCD 21A that is a solid-stateimage pickup device for shooting an object through the lens 11, and animage pickup signal processing section 21B for processing an imagepickup signal and outputting an image signal. The CCD 21A outputs acolor image pickup signal by detecting light of three colors of red (R),green (G), and blue (B) through different devices, respectively. Thesolid-state image pickup device may be a device such as a CMOS imagepickup device. The image pickup section 21 repeats shooting at apredetermined frame rate to output a moving image formed of a number ofimages. An image pickup sensitivity corresponding to an ISO sensitivityof a film depends on specifications of the CCD 21A, the amplificationrate for an image pickup signal according to the image pickup signalprocessing section 21B, etc. The images outputted by the image pickupsection 21 are temporarily stored in the temporary storage section 22A.

The detection section 22B detects luminosity of the object, i.e.,measures light of the object. Although white light is typicallymeasured, light of three colors of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) maybe separately measured as will be described later.

The condition control section 31B controls an exposure conditiondepending on the luminosity of the object detected by the detectionsection 22B. For example, the condition control section 31B outputs anexposure correction signal depending on the luminosity of the object tothe driving section 13 and the AGC control section 35B to control theamount of exposure to fall within a dynamic range of the CCD 21A.Specifically, with the exposure correction signal, the condition controlsection 31B controls operations of increasing and decreasing theaperture by a diaphragm section 11A driven by the driving section 13,the amplification rate in amplification processing for image pickupsignals performed by the AGC control section 35B, and the exposure time(the shutter speed).

By way of example, the exposure correction signal is a signal based on ameasured value of the amount of white light, and it is a combination ofan Ev (Exposure Value) value and an image pickup sensitivity. It isassumed here that, for an image pickup sensitivity corresponding toISO100, a shutter speed of 1/250 sec, and an F value of 5.6, the correctexposure is achieved with the Ev value=13. An image pickup sensitivitycorresponding to ISO400 is two stages higher than the image pickupsensitivity corresponding to ISO100. Accordingly, the Ev value for theimage pickup sensitivity corresponding to ISO400 is 15 resulting fromadding 2. Thus, when Ev=15 and the F value=5.6, the shutter speed forthe correct exposure is 1/1000 sec.

For simplicity of illustration, the following description will be madefor a case where the image pickup sensitivity and the shutter speed arefixed to certain values, for example the sensitivity corresponding toISO100 and the shutter speed 1/250 sec. Therefore the exposurecorrection signal, which is the exposure condition, is the aperturevalue (the F value) of the diaphragm section 11A.

The condition storage section 32B stores the exposure correction signal,i.e., the F value, which is the exposure condition for each image thatforms the moving image. The condition storage section 32B may store theF values for all the images, for every predetermined number of images,or only for images with the F value changed by a predetermined amount ormore. The condition storage section 32B may be a storage section thatdoubles as the temporary storage section 22A. The F value may beappended as attribute data to each image.

The correction section 33B performs luminosity correction processing forthe images stored in the temporary storage section 22A based on theexposure condition for each image stored in the condition storagesection 32B. Specifically, a bright image of the object i.e., an imagewith a high F value is made brighter, and a dark image of the objecti.e., an image with a low F value is made darker.

The storage section 23 stores the moving image formed of the correctedimage corrected by the correction section 33B. The display section 28displays an image before and during the shooting, i.e., a live viewimage, and displays an image after the shooting.

Now, a process flow in the camera 1B will be described with reference toa flowchart in FIG. 12.

<Step S30> Power On

The operation starts if the camera 1B is powered on (Yes) and ends ifthe camera 1B is powered off (No).

<Step S31> Initial System Setting

If shooting operation mode is movie mode (Yes), a process from S33 isperformed. Otherwise (No), a normal process such as a still imageshooting process from S32 is performed.

<Steps S33, S34> Detect Luminosity/Set Exposure Conditions

An image of an object picked up by the image pickup section 21 isdisplayed as a live view image on the display section 28. At this point,the condition control section 31B outputs the exposure correction signaldepending on the luminosity of the object detected by the detectionsection 22B. The condition control section 31B thereby controls theamount of exposure to fall within the dynamic range of the CCD 21A andof a processing circuit (not shown) including an image processingsection that processes the signal.

The exposure condition is determined using a known photometric scheme(evaluative metering, center-weighted average metering, or spotmetering). For shooting of a person, a correct exposure condition may beset for a face part detected with a face detection system. Further, theuser may touch the touch panel displaying the live view image with afinger to cause light in a certain area in the screen to be measured. Asanother example, the user may sequentially touch two parts in the liveview image, causing a correct exposure condition to be set so that theexposure in both of the two designated areas falls within apredetermined range of allowable values (the dynamic range of the CCD21A).

The dynamic range of the CCD 21A is quite narrow, for example around 2Ev in an extreme case. With an amount of exposure above the dynamicrange, image signals take saturation values. With an amount of exposurebelow the dynamic range, image signals lack differences in values.Amplifying such image signals would result in what is called roughimages with many noise components.

When an object mainly containing a specific color, for example red, isshot, the luminosity (intensity) of red light may exceed the saturationvalue even though the intensity of white light is below the saturationvalue. For this reason, in the case of detecting white light, an imagesignal intensity sufficiently smaller than the saturation value of whitelight is preferably set as the upper limit of the correct exposure (thedynamic range).

The condition control section 31B controls the diaphragm section 11A sothat the F value is varied depending on the luminosity of the objectdetected by the detection section 22B. Here, with reference to FIGS. 13Ato 13D, operation of the condition control section 31B will be describedfor a case where a moving image of a fish swimming in water is shot fromabove the surface of the water. At the time T=T0 shown in FIG. 13A, afish 50 is in a bright area as shown in the display screen 28A. At thetime T=T1 shown in FIG. 13B, the fish 50 starts moving to a dark area,and at the time T=T2 shown in FIG. 13C, the fish 50 is in the dark area.While the fish 50 swims from the bright area to the dark area during thetime T=T0 to T2, the luminosity distribution of the object including thebackground significantly changes as shown in FIG. 13D.

Conventional cameras uniformly control electric signals to fall within apredetermined range through automatic exposure control even if theluminosity significantly changes. This is because the image maytransition from the state shown in FIG. 13A to the state shown in FIG.13C or conversely from the state shown in FIG. 13C to the state shown inFIG. 13A, and it is difficult to predict what will occur in the future.As such, real-time control is usually performed to make electric signalsfall within a predetermined range of signal levels.

As shown in FIG. 13E, the condition control section 31B controls thediaphragm section 11A depending on the luminosity of the object so thatthe image pickup signal intensity falls within the dynamic range of theCCD 21A. For example, the condition control section 31B varies theexposure condition such that the F value=8 at the time T=T0, the Fvalue=5.6 at the time T=T1, and the F value=4 at the time T=T2. In thismanner, the condition control section 31B narrows the aperture of thediaphragm section 11A to reduce the amount of exposure for a brightobject, and widens the aperture to increase the amount of exposure for adark object.

Recording the exposure control values at the same time allowsrecognizing how the actual luminosity has changed during the movingimage shooting. Specifically, a scene with a large F value can beconsidered as bright, and a scene with a small F value can be consideredas dark. Other exposure control approaches include exposure control byvarying the sensitivity (gain), and exposure control by varying theexposure time. In these cases, similarly, a scene with a large gain or along exposure time can be considered as dark, and a scene with a smallgain or a short exposure time can be considered as bright. In thismanner, the luminosity at a certain point of time can be detected fromthe exposure control value, or a luminosity change can be detected fromchanges in the detected luminosity. Hereinafter, for simplicity ofillustration, description will be continued assuming that the exposureis controlled with only the aperture (the F value), by way of example.

<Step S35> Start Shooting Moving Image

If an instruction to start shooting a moving image is given by the userthrough the operation section 26 (Yes), a moving image shooting processfrom S38 is started. Otherwise (No), the live view image display processfrom S33 is repeated, in which the image acquisition and displaydepending on the luminosity is repeated in real time.

<Step S36> Detect Luminosity/Set Exposure Conditions

The same process as in S33 is performed.

<Step S37> Obtain Images

The image pickup section 21 shoots the object and outputs image signals.As shown in FIG. 13E, the object is shot so that the image signals fallwithin the dynamic range of the CCD 21A. However, changes in luminosityare not taken into account.

<Step S38> Store Images and Exposure Conditions

The image signals outputted by the image pickup section 21 are stored inthe temporary storage section 22A, and the exposure conditions, i.e.,the F values, are stored in the condition storage section 32B. The imagesignals stored in the temporary storage section 22A are preferablystored directly as RGB pixel data, that is, without being converted intoimages, in order to perform luminosity correction processing after theshooting.

<Step S39> Is Shooting Finished?

The process in steps S38 to S40 is repeated at a predetermined framerate, for example 60 frames/sec, until the user instructs the finish ofthe shooting (Yes). That is, sixty images per second are shot.

<Step S40> Luminosity Correction Processing

Once the user instructs the finish of the moving image shooting throughthe operation section 26, the correction section 33B performs luminositycorrection processing for the images stored in the temporary storagesection 22A. The luminosity correction processing is performed based onthe exposure condition, i.e., the F value at the time of shooting eachimage, stored in the condition storage section 32B.

For example, in the luminosity correction processing, the average of theF values (an average F value) of all the images is first calculated.Then, the difference between the F value of each image to be correctedand the average F value is calculated. If the calculated F valuedifference is positive, the image of the object is brighter than theaverage of the entire moving image, and if the calculated F valuedifference is negative, the image of the object is darker than theaverage of the entire moving image. The luminosity correction processingis performed by an amount of correction proportional to the F valuedifference. Instead of the average, the luminosity correction processingmay be performed with reference to the largest F value or the smallest Fvalue.

The luminosity correction processing may not be performed for images forwhich the calculated F value difference is below a predetermined value.As another example, the images that form the moving image may be dividedinto nine groups based on the calculated F value differences to performthe luminosity correction processing with nine levels of amounts ofcorrection. In this case, in the nine levels, the first level is a groupwith the positive and largest F value differences, the fifth level is agroup with the smallest absolute values of the F value differences, andthe ninth group is a group with the negative and largest F valuedifferences. The correction processing is performed to make first-levelimages the brightest and ninth-level images the darkest, and is notperformed for fifth-level images.

The luminosity correction processing is performed based on an amount ofcorrection proportional to the F value difference. Preferably, aproportionality factor for the F value difference and the amount ofcorrection can be, in other words, the intensity of the correctionprocessing can be user-settable. The relationship between the F valuedifference and the amount of correction may be based on a function suchas a linear function, an exponential function, a logarithmic function,or a more complex predetermined approximate expression function.

Here, by way of example, the luminosity correction processing will bedescribed assuming that the difference of the amount of correction (theamplification rate) between each of the nine levels is “1.2.” With thedifference of the amount of correction “1.2,” a viewer is not likely tonotice gradual changes (correction steps) caused by the correction, sothat the luminosity correction processing providing a natural feel canbe realized.

In the correction processing with the difference of the amount ofcorrection “1.2,” a fourth-level image, which is one level brighter thanthe fifth level, has its image signal intensity corrected by 1.2 times.A third-level image is subjected to amplification correction by“1.2.times.1.2=1.44” times. Similarly, a second-level image is subjectedto amplification correction by 1.73 times, and a first-level image issubjected to amplification correction by 2.01 times.

Conversely, for an image with the sixth-level exposure control, which isone level darker than the fifth level, the luminosity correctionprocessing is performed at “1/1.2 times” the amplification rate. For aseventh-level image, the luminosity correction processing is performedat “1/1.44 times” the amplification rate. For an eighth-level image, theluminosity correction processing is performed at “1/1.73 times” theamplification rate. For a ninth-level image, the luminosity correctionprocessing is performed at “1/2.01 times” the amplification rate.

Since the luminosity is further halved for a dark image and doubled fora bright image, the user can clearly feel changes in luminosity.

The luminosity correction processing prevents the images that form themoving image from being rendered with uniform luminosity, so that a darkscene can be felt to be darker and a bright scene can be felt to bebrighter. Appropriately selecting the difference of the amount ofcorrection between each level makes the correction steps lessnoticeable, allowing enhanced realism and expression.

Depending on the user's selection, the correction may be performed tomake changes more noticeable even if the correction steps are unnatural.For example, three-times amplification correction may be performed forfirst-level images for making the images seem very bright.

As described above, the correction section 33B performs the luminositycorrection processing for increasing or decreasing the luminosity ofeach image that forms the moving image based on the deviation of theexposure condition of the image from the average.

Among the images that form the moving image, the correction section 33Bpreferably corrects the luminosity of an image in which the object isthe brightest to a predetermined highest luminosity. The predeterminedhighest luminosity here is, for example, the upper limit value of thedynamic range of the corrected images. In shooting the moving image ofthe fish as shown in FIG. 13, the luminosity of the object simplydecreases as shown in FIG. 15A. However, the luminosity maycomplicatedly change as shown in FIG. 15B. In the case of a moving imagein which the luminosity of an object simply decreases, the luminosity ofthe initial image may be corrected to be the highest luminosity.However, in the case of a moving image in which the luminosity changesas shown in FIG. 15B, correcting the luminosity of the initial image tobe the highest luminosity results in that the luminosity of subsequentbrighter images can only be corrected to the same highest luminosity asthe initial image. Therefore changes in luminosity of the object cannotbe reproduced.

In contrast, among the images that form the moving image, the luminosityof an image in which the object is the brightest is corrected to thepredetermined highest luminosity. This allows changes in luminosity ofthe object to be more accurately reproduced. That is, a moving imagecloser to what is seen with the naked eye can be obtained throughout themoving image.

The predetermined highest luminosity may be set to a value based on thedynamic range of the corrected images, for example 90% of the upperlimit value.

Rather than simply taking into account the highest/lowest luminosity orthe maximum/minimum of the amount of exposure, the correction preferablyalso takes into account which exposure condition has been used for thelongest time during the shooting (has been used for the largest numberof images).

The correction processing is not performed for images under thefifth-level exposure condition (the average exposure condition).Further, if images shot under the same exposure condition continue overhalf or ⅔ of the entire moving image, these images may be considered asimages according to the user's intention and may not be subjected to thecorrection processing.

The correction processing may be performed for only the starting partand ending part of the moving image and not for the middle part. Thatis, depending on the user's selection/setting, groups of images to besubjected to the correction processing may be selectable, or the degreeof correction processing may be variable among groups of images. Theuser can obtain a moving image rendered according to the user'sintention.

The luminosity correction processing is also dynamic range expansionprocessing. A dynamic range of a device, such as a television, used bythe user to view the moving image (a display unit dynamic range) iswider than the dynamic range of the CCD 21A. Therefore, as shown in FIG.14B, the correction section 33B performs the correction processing formaking a bright area brighter and a dark area darker within the range ofthe display unit dynamic range, in other words, within a predeterminedcorrected dynamic range. This allows generating a moving image closer towhat is seen with the naked eye. Since the images shot within thedynamic range of the CCD 21A have a good color balance, a moving imagewith colors closer to what is seen with the naked eye can be obtained.The display unit dynamic range depends on factors such as the type ofthe display unit. As such, the corrected dynamic range, i.e., thehighest luminosity/lowest luminosity after the luminosity correctionprocessing are preferably determined by the user's selection from anumber of predetermined values.

Thus, the correction section 33B performs the luminosity correctionprocessing and the dynamic range expansion processing for the imageswith the image signal intensities shown in FIG. 14A stored in thetemporary storage section 22A. Then the images with corrected imagesignal intensities shown in FIG. 14B can be obtained.

The corrected image signal intensities shown in FIG. 14B are close tothe object luminosity distribution shown in FIG. 13D, thus close to whatis seen with the naked eye.

<Step S41> Store Corrected Moving Image

The moving image formed of the images subjected to the luminositycorrection processing by the correction section 33B is stored in thestorage section 23. Known data compression processing may be performedbefore storage.

Thus, a method for controlling a shooting apparatus in the presentembodiment includes: a detection step of detecting luminosity of anobject; a condition control step of controlling an exposure conditiondepending on the luminosity of the object detected in the detectionstep; a shooting step of shooting the object at a predetermined framerate under control in the condition control step and outputting a movingimage formed of a plurality of images; a condition storage step ofstoring a value of the exposure condition for each of the images; and acorrection step of performing luminosity correction processing based onthe value of the exposure condition for each of the images stored in thecondition storage step.

As described above, the camera 1B, which is a shooting apparatus in thepresent embodiment, provides a moving image closer to what is seen withthe naked eye because of the luminosity correction processing performedby the correction section 33B. Also, the camera 1B provides a movingimage closer to what is seen with the naked eye throughout the movingimage.

For simplicity of illustration, the above description has employed theaperture value (the F value) of the diaphragm section 11A as theexposure correction signal, which is the exposure condition, by way ofexample. Other exposure conditions may also be employed, such as theshutter speed, or the amplification rate used in the amplificationprocessing for image pickup signals performed by the AGC control section35B. Since the image pickup sensitivity can be increased or decreased byprocessing of adding pixels or thinning out pixels, a control value ofsuch processing may be employed as an exposure condition. In an actualcamera, the above various exposure control schemes are usually combinedto determine exposure conditions, and the exposure correction signal asthe exposure condition is calculated based on control values of severalexposure control schemes.

Fourth Embodiment

Now, a camera 1C, which is a shooting apparatus in a fourth embodimentof the present invention, will be described. Since the camera 1C issimilar to the camera 1B, like components will be given like symbols andwill not be described.

As shown in FIG. 16, the camera 1C includes an object designationsection 36B that is object designation means, and a recognition section34B that is recognition means, in a control section 30C in a body 20C.The object designation section 36B allows a user to designate a specificobject through a touch panel based on an object image displayed on adisplay section 28. The recognition section 34B recognizes an image ofthe specific object in the object image displayed on the display section28.

As in a case where the sun setting over the horizon is shot with acamera fixed on a tripod, an object of shooting may move in the screenover time. Further, the sun is very bright compared with the sky in thebackground. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 17, the user designates thesun 51 as the specific object in a live view image on the camera 1C bytouching a touch panel 29 with a finger before starting the shooting.Then the moving image shooting is started while a condition controlsection 31B controls the exposure state to be optimum for the sun.

As shown in FIGS. 18A to 18C, the sun 51 moves from an upper part to alower part in the display screen during the time T=T0 to T2, and theluminosity of the sky in the background as well as the luminosity of thesun 51 decrease. Thus, as shown in FIG. 18D, the luminosity changessignificantly. In addition, the sun is very bright compared with thebackground.

In the camera 1C, the recognition section 34B detects the part of thesun 51 in the shot images, and the condition control section 31Bcontrols the exposure state to be always optimum for the sun 51. Thatis, as shown in FIG. 18E, through the control by the condition controlsection 31B using the F value based on the luminosity of the sun 51, theimage signal intensities of the sun in the images fall within thedynamic range of a CCD 21A. However, the changes in luminosity aresmall, resulting in colors different from what is seen with the nakedeye.

As shown in FIG. 19, in the camera 1C, a correction section 33B performsthe luminosity correction processing after the shooting as in the camera1B in the third embodiment so that the intensities fall within a displayunit dynamic range. This allows obtaining a moving image in whichchanges such as in luminosity and color of the sun (the specific object)are close to what is seen with the naked eye.

The object designation section 36B identifies the shape, color, orbrightness specific to the object image in the area designated by theuser through the touch panel 29, and detects how the position of similarpatterns in the sequentially obtained images moves.

When the specific object designated by the object designation section36B disappears from the screen during the shooting, for example when thesun sets below the horizon, the camera 1C informs the user and asks theuser for determination whether to continue or stop the shooting.

As described above, in addition to the advantages of the camera 1B, thecamera 1C in the present embodiment provides an advantage of the abilityto shoot a moving image that matches the user's intention with attentionfocused on a specific object in a small part of the screen.

In shooting a sunset scene, image signal intensities of only red lightare high. Accordingly, red image signals may exceed the saturation valueof a CCD 21 even though they are below the upper limit value of thedynamic range of the CCD 21 that is set lower by a predetermined valuebased on the saturation value of white light.

Therefore, in shooting the sunset, it is preferable to use a camerahaving a detection section that separately detects the luminosity ofred, green, and blue light rather than the luminosity of white light. Inthis case, the condition control section 31B controls the F value sothat the intensities of light of all the three colors are below therespective saturation values. In this manner, the intensities can becontrolled to fall within the dynamic range of the CCD 21A even if theintensities of only a specific color are high.

Fifth Embodiment

Now, a camera 1D capable of shooting moving images, which is a shootingapparatus in a fifth embodiment, will be described below. The camera 1Dhas both the functions of the camera 1 in the first embodiment and thefunctions of the camera 1B in the third embodiment.

Thus, the camera 1D includes: a detection section that detectsluminosity of an object; a shooting section that outputs images of theobject; a condition control section that controls an exposure conditionto fall within a dynamic range of the shooting section depending on theluminosity of the object detected by the detection section; a movingimage shooting control section that controls the shooting section torepeat shooting under different predetermined shooting conditions at apredetermined frame rate; a condition storage section that stores avalue of the exposure condition for each of the images; a correctionsection that performs luminosity correction processing based on thevalue of the exposure condition for each of the images stored in thecondition storage section; a moving image generation section thatgenerates moving images based on the corrected images shot under thepredetermined shooting conditions, respectively; an image extractionsection that extracts a first image and a second image based on apredetermined condition from each of the moving images; a displaysection; and a display control section that performs control tosimultaneously multi-display the first image and the second image ofeach moving image on the display section.

The camera 1D provides both the advantages of the camera 1 in the firstembodiment and the advantages of the camera 1B in the third embodiment.

Therefore, in addition to the moving image shooting withoutoverexposure, the correction of changes in luminosity during theshooting is performed. This enables acquisition of a moving imagecapable of dynamic rendering with respect to changes in color andluminosity.

For example, a camera as follows can be provided. In shooting thesunset, a moving image that reproduces the color of the sun can be shotwithout overexposing the sun. Further, when the sun sets and darknesscomes, the scene can be rendered as an image of deep darkness withoutsetting a uniform exposure condition.

The foregoing description has been made for the cameras that areshooting apparatuses, by way of example. It is to be understood that thepresent invention is also applicable to mobile devices and home electricappliances with a moving image shooting function and a display function.

Having described the preferred embodiments of the invention referring tothe accompanying drawings, it should be understood that the presentinvention is not limited to those precise embodiments and variouschanges and modifications thereof could be made by one skilled in theart without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shooting apparatus, comprising: a shootingsection that outputs still images of an object; a moving image shootingcontrol section that controls the shooting section to repeat shootingunder different predetermined shooting conditions; a moving imagegeneration section that generates a plurality of movies including thestill images previously shot under the predetermined shootingconditions, respectively; and a selection section that selects one ofthe plurality of movies based on an image analysis of brightness changesof colors of still images from each of the plurality of movies.
 2. Theshooting apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: an image analysissection that performs the image analysis, for each of the previouslygenerated plurality of movies; and an image extraction section thatextracts a first still image and a second still image from each of theplurality of previously generated movies based on at least one of thebrightness values of the colors and the amounts of change of thebrightness values of the colors from each of the plurality of previouslygenerated movies.
 3. The shooting apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: an image analysis section that performs the image analysis,for each of the previously generated plurality of movies; and an imageextraction section that extracts a first still image and a second stillimage from each of the plurality of previously generated movies based ona predetermined condition.
 4. The shooting apparatus of claim 3 whereinthe predetermined condition is the occurrence of a sharp change betweenthe first image and the second image.
 5. The shooting apparatus of claim3 wherein the predetermined condition is the occurrence of a largeamount of change relative to time between the first image and secondimage.
 6. The shooting apparatus according to claim 2, furthercomprising: a designation section through which designation of a certainregion or a certain object within the still images is performed, whereinthe selection section selects the movie based on the brightness valuesof the colors of the certain region or the certain object designated bythe designation section.
 7. The shooting apparatus according to claim 6,wherein the designation section performs the designation based on by auser's operation received through a touch panel.
 8. The shootingapparatus according to claim 6, wherein the designation sectionautomatically performs the designation based on a preset condition. 9.The shooting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first stillimage is an initial still image and the second still image is a laststill image.
 10. The shooting apparatus of claim 1 wherein the imageanalysis of brightness changes of colors detects, separately, changes inbrightness of separate colors.
 11. The shooting apparatus of claim 1wherein the plurality of movies including the still images previouslyshot under the predetermined shooting conditions are captured inparallel such that the plurality of movies have overlapping timeperiods.
 12. A method for controlling a shooting apparatus, comprising:a shooting step, by a shooting section, of repeating a first shootingstep of outputting still images of an object under a first shootingcondition and a second shooting step of outputting still images of theobject under a second shooting condition under control of a moving imageshooting control section; a movie generation step of generating a firstmovie with the still images shot in the first shooting step and a secondmovie with the still images shot in the seconding shooting step; and aselection step, by a selection section, of selecting one of theplurality of movies based on an image analysis of brightness changes ofcolors of still images from each of the plurality of movies.
 13. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: an image extraction step, by animage extraction section, of extracting a first still image and a secondstill image from each of the movies.
 14. The method of claim 12 whereinthe image analysis of brightness changes of colors detects changes in aspecific color regarded important by the user.
 15. The method of claim12 wherein the plurality of movies including the still images previouslyshot under the predetermined shooting conditions are captured inparallel such that the plurality of movies have overlapping timeperiods.
 16. A method for controlling an image capturing apparatus, themethod comprising: repeating, a first shooting step of outputting imagesof an object under a first shooting condition, and a second shootingstep of outputting images of the object under a second shootingcondition; generating a first movie based on a plurality of imagespreviously shot in the first shooting step; generating a second moviebased on a plurality of images previously shot in the second shootingstep; and selecting one of the first and second movies based on an imageanalysis of brightness changes of colors of still images from each ofthe first and second of movies.
 17. The method for controlling an imagecapturing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the brightness valuesof the plurality of colors are red, green, and blue brightness values.18. The method for controlling an image capturing apparatus according toclaim 16, wherein the act of selecting one of the first and secondmovies is based on a first image and a second image extracted from eachof the first and second movies.
 19. The method for controlling an imagecapturing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the extraction of thefirst image and the second image from each of the first and secondmovies is based on a predetermined condition.
 20. The method forcontrolling an image capturing apparatus according to claim 19, whereinthe predetermined condition is the occurrence of a sharp change inbrightness between a first still image and a second still image.
 21. Themethod for controlling an image capturing apparatus according to claim19, wherein the predetermined condition is the occurrence of a largeamount of change relative to time between the first image and secondimage.
 22. The method for controlling an image capturing apparatusaccording to claim 16, further comprising: designating a certain regionor a certain object within the images, wherein the selected one of thefirst and second movies is based on the brightness values of the colorsof the certain region or the certain object designated.
 23. The methodfor controlling an image capturing apparatus according to claim 22,wherein the designation is based on by a user's operation receivedthrough a touch panel.
 24. The method for controlling an image capturingapparatus according to claim 22, wherein the designation is performedautomatically, based on a preset condition.